Door and latch construction



Jan. 19, 1937.

H. w. MCPHERsoN DOOR AND LATCH CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Oct. 3l, 1931 YO/VENTOR.

y Pstentedvian, 19,1937

UNITED STATES PATE-NT clsical -;v

. 2,068,606 noon AND LA'rcn CONSTRUCTION l Hal W. McPherson, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to `General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Delaware riginal application october 31, 1931, seal No. -s'zzazn Patent No. 2,001,740, dma May 21,

1935.v Divided and this application March 21,

1935, Serial No. 12,229

ratus and more particularly to latches for the i0 doors of.refrigerator cabinets for use with refrigerating apparatus.

Refrigerator cabinets are ordinarily provided with an insulated door provided with a relatively Y thick flange extending around the door which l causes the door to project from the remainder vof the front face of the cabinet about an inch or more. It has been customary to fasten the refrigerator door latchv on the outside of the anged door with the bolt mechanism projecting entirely an above the face ofthe door. The keeper` which is fastened to the stationaryportion ofthe cabinet therefore mustproject,` several inches from the stationary portiony of the cabinet. This also l causes the latch and its handie to project a con- This' projection becomes somewhat of a nuisance because it is often in thegway. This particular vconstruction also placesja considerable strain i upon the fastenings of the keeper since the cam surfaces o f the keeper which are engaged by the bolt mechanism are a considerable distance from the fastening means of the keeper and thereby through this rather large moment arm a considerable force is-made possible which tends to pull out the fastening screws of the keeper.

It is therefore an object of my invention to reduce the amount of projection of the latch mechv anlsm and the keeper from the face of the cabinet and to reduce the strain upon the keeper.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent `from the following description, r ference beingfihad to the accompanying dra g, whereinfaI preferred form o the present invention isflclearly shown.

In the drawing es v Fig. 1 isa front view of a refrigerator cabinet showing my' improved latch applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator cabinet shown in'Flg. 1 showingY my improved latchl mechanism and keeper, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the lined-3 of m.' 2. i

In Flg."2 -there -is sli'own a fragmentary .sec- 55' tional view of a refrigerator. door 54 includingia of the door jamb 60.

siderable distance from the face of the door.

rectangular frame and a facing member 5| fastened to the front side of the rectangular frame 50. Suitable insulation'52, such as cork,

is provided within the rectangular frame 50 for insulating the door. A sheet metalcovering 53, 5 preferably provided with a suitable coating such as poreclain, is laid over the facing member 5| for covering thelfront surface of the door 54. This covering 53 is provided with a sunken groove -55 in which a tubular slideway 66 is fastened. 10

Within the slideway 56 there'is a cylindrical bolt 51 provided with a kerf at its outer end which receives a roller 58. The roller 58 engages a sultable keeper 59 which is fastened to the outer side A suitable handle 6| is l5 provided for retracting the bolt. This handle 6| is pivotally supported by means of the pin 62 upon a bracket 63 fastened by means of screws-64 to the outer face of the door and provided with upstandlng ears 65 for recelvingthe pin 62. 'I'he 20 bracket 63 is preferably brazed and sweated to the tubular slideway 56 to provide a unitary piece., 'Ihe handle 6| has an operating arm 1U extendinginwardly from the pivot pin 53 through a slot 61 in the outer portion of the tubular slide- 25 way 56 into a recess 69 provided for this purpose in the bolt 51. 'I'he operating arm 10 presses against the rear end ofthe recess 69 and lretracts the bolt 51 and the roller 58 from engagel ment with the keeper 59 against the resilient 30 force of the coil spring 1| which is provided between the inner end of the-bolt 51 and the inner end of the tubular slideway 56.

An ornamental escutcheon plate is provided for cov'erlng the latch mechanism so as to give 35 the latch a pleas ng appearance. By sinking the latch mechanism into the door, the amount of projection of thevhandle and the keeper is reduced because of the reduced moment arm, there is less strain upon the fastenings of the keeper.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, 'it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all comingwithin the scope of 45 4a recess in the'facel of the door, said latch construction beingsecured to said door and fitting over the outer metallic face thereof, and said latch construction including mechanism having 55 2 s aooaooe a portion thereof in said recess to reduce the distance of projection of the latch from the door.

.2. A door and a latch construction therefor, said door having a sheet metal covering forming' the fiat outer face thereof, said covering -having a portion thereof depressed inwardly of the'at face of the door, said latch construction being secured to saiddoorand having a. part thereof engaging the flat outer face thereof, andsaid latch construction also including mechanism having a part thereof disposed within said depression to reduce the distance of projection of 5 the latch from the door.

v HAL W. MCPHERSON. 

